Portal 2
by sepulcherr
Summary: Test subject #1, previously test subject #1498, wakes up in an old, run-down room. A stranger at the door greets her, and helps her plan her escape from the ruins of the long-abandoned Aperture enrichment centre.


**Prologue**

"Wowwwww! Check me out, partner!"

He spins around once, and the lower shutter of his optic is up. You know he's happy. And you're happy for him. After all this work, GLaDOS isn't in charge anymore. And you're going to be able to go. Free! Finally. It's been so long since you've been on the surface. Too long. You don't know quite how long it's been, really, but you're practically shaking in your boots from the sheer excitement of it all. Saying you can't wait is an understatement.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Would you look at this. Not too bad, eh? Giant robot. Massive! It's not just me, right? I'm bloody massive, aren't I?"

You practically beam, and you shift the portal gun in your hand, shuffling from side to side. You continue staring at him, and he stares back before blinking, and jerking his head off to the side.

"Oh! Right, the escape lift. I'll call it now."

When the lift shows up, you walk over, stepping delicately over pieces of glass. And GLaDOS' head. That too, you suppose. You can hear Wheatley chattering excitedly behind you, and you're still smiling for him. The next few words he says makes your smile twitch, but you don't think much of it.

"Look how small you are down there! I can barely see you! Very tiny and insignificant!"

What? You open your mouth to say that, but you know nothing is going to come out. It isn't like you can will your voice-box to work all of a sudden. Even if you want it to.

"Wait. Just thought of something? How am I going to get in? You know, being bloody massive and everything."

You pause before you get him, turning towards the core. Used to be core. Just referring to him as 'Wheatley' is good enough, actually.

"Wait! I know! You get into the lift, okay? Then I'll eject myself out of my new body into the lift just as you pass me! Brilliant. It's perfect. Except for all the glass hitting us when I smash through the lift- that's a bit of a problem."

You can hear him muttering something about 'trapped in a lift full of broken class' and 'suspended fifty feet off the ground' but you don't hear much of it. You turn back around, stepping gingerly over to the lift. You turn once you're inside, looking at him expectantly with the ghost of a smile still upon your face.

"I knew it was gonna be cool being in charge of everything, but… wow, this is cool! And check this out! I'm a bloody genius now!"

You chew your bottom lip, resisting the strong urge to tilt your head in confusion when he continues chattering on and on. Something in Spanish. That is Spanish, right? Yeah, you think so. It doesn't really matter, because you have no idea what he's saying.

"I don't even know what I just said! But I can find out. ..Oh! Sorry. The lift. Sorry. I keep forgetting."

The lift slowly moves up, and you let loose a breath you didn't know you were holding. Your legs feel like jelly. You assume it's from the anticipation, but it could also be from the fact that you haven't eaten in god knows how long.

"This body is amazing, seriously! I can't get over how small you are! But I'm huge!"

He starts to laugh, and it's a generally hearty laugh. It's so unlike the nervous, jittery laugh he had before, but.. You think maybe it's different, because you act as if the smile has been slapped right off your face. Even you know that's a text-book villain laugh. You're not stupid.

"…Actually.. why do we have to leave right now? Do you have any idea how good this feels?"

Suddenly, this whole situation got a whole lot darker. You think, if you could talk, that you'd be muttering something like 'shit' right now under your breath. The lift moves down, and you have to force yourself not to pull up a worried expression. It's hard, but you keep a straight face, staring Wheatley down with a rather judgmental gaze.

"I did this! Tiny little Wheatley did this!"

You open your mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. If anything came out, it was a quiet wheeze. You inwardly curse yourself for that, foot stomping a little. You did the work. He helped… but he doesn't even have arms for god's sak-

"You didn't do anything.."

You blink as your thoughts are cut off in mid thought, and your gaze snaps down. Oh. GLaDOS.

"She did all the work!"

If you weren't in the situation you're currently in, you'd almost feel a touch flattered that she's sticking up for you. In some sense.

"Oh really. That's what the two of you think, is it?"

You're about to shake your head, because no, no he helped.

"Well, maybe it's time I did something then."

A claw descends down and drags the remains of the previous AI towards.. towards that pit thing. You're not sure what it's called, exactly.

"Don't think I'm not on to you too, lady. You know what you are? Selfish."

Your eyebrows furrow, and you're staring heatedly at the core's eye. You're not selfish. God damn it- you can't even talk.

"I've done nothing but sacrifice to get us here! What have you sacrificed? Nothing. Zero. All you've done is boss me around! Well, now who's the boss? Who's the boss? It's me!"

Your teeth grit and your throat feels a touch tighter than it had before. You have nothing to sacrifice. And all you've done is listen to him and nothing else. Sure, you had your own ideas thrown in there. Saving the defective turret and putting him as the template. Finding out how to shut the neurotoxin down. You feel a sharp sting of regret pulsing through your head.  
The claw lifts something from the pit. ..A potato? It reminds you of the whole 'bring your daughter to work' day. You'd smile at the thought, because the project with the potato growing through the roof was yours (there was a name on it, you checked), but you're in a bit of a tight situation here.

"Ahh.. See that? That's a potato battery. It's a toy. For children. And now she lives in it."

He starts to laugh, but then a small voice speaks up from.. er. POTaDOS. Heh. Yeah. That's a good name.

"I know you."

"Sorry, what?"

"The engineers tried everything to make me.. behave. To slow me down. Once, they even attached an intelligence dampening sphere on me. It clung to my brain like a tumor. Generating a stream of terrible ideas."

You tilt your head, and struggle to hear the small voice. As much as you'd like to just.. drop dead at the moment, you want to hear her.

"No! I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"

"It was your voice."

You give a small gasp of surprise. The longer you let it sink in.. well. The more it makes sense. Wheatley isn't that bright, despite the smarty-smart-smart accent he sports.

"No! No! You're lying. You're lying!"

"Yes! You're the tumor. You're not just a regular moron. You're designed to be a moron."

The claw rears back, and slams against the glass. You wince back, but the glass doesn't shatter. Thankfully.

"I am not a moron!"

"Yes you are! You're the moron they built to make me an idiot!"

"Well how about now! Now who's a moron!"

The claw rears back again, stabbing the lower edge of the glass, effectively shoving GLaDOS inside. You look down, and debate picking her up. In fact, you almost do, but a thud smacks against the top of the lift. The surprise of it all rouses a whispery, quiet squeak from the back of your throat. You flush, embarrassed by the mouse-like noise. Nobody can hear it besides you, but.. There's another wham. And another.

"Could a MORON! PUNCH! YOU! INTO! THIS! PIT! Huh? Could a moron do that?"

It suddenly drops down, and the last thing you hear before you and the former-AI fall is a quick "Uh oh.".

The last thing you feel are the bitter streaks of disappointment, anger and betrayal staining your cheeks.


End file.
